NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 204
204. VS Shirayuki
The sensation of bone transmitted through my fist. At the same time, Shirayuki’s body was blown backward, crashing into the building’s wall.
Mira-san’s body collapsed on the spot, lying flat on the ground.
“Mira-san! I’ll heal you now!”
Crouching down, I saw Mira-san’s body was in terrible condition, with multiple holes pierced through her torso. Likely, Shirayuki had driven her arm through her.
“You… who are you!?”
Just as I was about to begin healing, Shirayuki emerged from the collapsed building and hurled a question at me.
She brushed her bangs aside, glaring at me with fox-like sharp eyes. It was clear she was furious.
Still, the pressure she exudes is incredible…! Level 90s… no, maybe even 100.
“I’m… Mira-san’s disciple!”
“Ludmilla’s disciple? …Hah, so you came crawling here for revenge, huh?”
“What did you do to Mira-san?”
“What does it look like? I killed her. She’s dead. She won’t get up again.”
I glanced back at Mira-san. She was bleeding profusely from the holes in her torso, in a state where survival would normally be impossible.
The credibility of Shirayuki’s words grew within me.
Mira-san’s death.
“Raize, take care of Mira-san.”
But that was something I couldn’t accept.
“Mira-san would never lose. I’ll defeat you and prove it.”
“Denial? How pathetic. Standing up to me here will only add to the body count.”
“We’ll see about that!”
I thrust my right hand forward, releasing
A horizontal line of thunder. It struck Shirayuki’s torso like a spear.
“…Tch!”
But Shirayuki twisted her body at the last moment, dodging the direct hit. After sliding sideways, she regained her posture.
I didn’t miss the opening. Drawing Scarlet Blossom, I aimed a thrust at Shirayuki’s heart.
“You brat…!!”
Shirayuki quickly reacted to my close-range attack, deflecting the blade with her claws and retreating backward.
“You… where did you get that power!? That attack wasn’t something a level 70 could pull off!!”
“Is that all you have to say?”
I didn’t stop my charge. Closing the distance, I swung my sword.
Shirayuki gritted her teeth, continuously evading, but gradually my strikes began to outpace her reactions.
In an instant, her kimono sleeve was slashed by the blade.
“――Now!”
Channeling magic into Scarlet Blossom, thunder crackled and wrapped around the sword.
“You’re still using that technique――!”
Shirayuki flinched at the sudden lightning. It was the biggest opening she had shown.
“
At the last moment, Shirayuki activated her own magic.
Before me appeared a dragon, clad in bluish-white scales, standing like a wall in the narrow gap between us.
“Too naive! Your failure to anticipate my counterattack is your downfall!”
The dragon, with movements reminiscent of a Behemoth, opened its maw wide to devour me.
Facing the dragon, I stood my ground. Shirayuki retreated. A fierce exchange in a mere moment.
“Come on, step back or the dragon will eat you!?”
“――You’ve misunderstood something.”
I already accounted for you using some kind of magic.
“
Gripping Scarlet Blossom, crimson Homuras coiled around the blade like a dragon.
Then, the released slash. It shattered the white dragon before me in an instant.
“Impossible!? A level 80 dragon, destroyed in one strike!?”
Shirayuki had underestimated me. She arrogantly assumed I was just some level 70 weakling.
And the cost of that miscalculation was steep.
“No way――a second strike!?”
Now, there was nothing between me and Shirayuki. The distance was closed.
At this perfect moment, I unleashed the second strike of
“
“You damn brattttttttttttttttttttt!!”
My roar. Shirayuki’s scream. Amidst the clash, the thunder-clad second strike was unleashed.
The descending blade caught Shirayuki’s slender arm, sending it flying into the air.
“Arc’s attack――landed!”
As Raize’s voice rang out, Shirayuki’s arm hit the ground with a thud.
A fleeting exchange. The one who came out on top――was me.
“Haa, haa, haa…”
“What’s wrong? You’re breathing pretty hard.”
Shirayuki, having sacrificed her arm to save her life, clutched the stump of her lost left arm, panting as she retreated.
The composure she had earlier was gone, replaced by desperation.
“Why――why are both Ludmilla and this guy so strong!?”
“Give up. With your arm gone, you stand no chance.”
“Damn it――damn damn damn!!”
Shirayuki stomped the ground, howling in frustration.
“Before I finish you, let me ask. Shirayuki, why did you make Lloyd go berserk?”
“Hah, isn’t it obvious? It’s all for the Miracle that’s about to happen.”
“Miracle?”
“A Miracle that will change the rules of this world――something you wouldn’t understand. For that, my life――is a small price to pay!”
I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying. Was she rambling in her madness?
“Enough. Mira-san’s in danger. I’m ending this.”
“But――now’s not the time!”
In that instant, I saw Shirayuki aiming behind me, extending her remaining right arm.
“――No way!”
She was targeting Raize and Mira-san behind me!
I could withstand her magic, but the two of them couldn’t――!
“Let me tell you, you damn brat! You and your master’s naivety will let me escape!!”
Eight magic circles unfolded around her palm.
From them, glowing magical bullets shot out, flying toward Raize and Mira-san like a Venus flytrap’s trajectory.
“Look out!”
I slashed through all eight bullets with Scarlet Blossom, causing them to explode mid-air.
Thanks to that, Raize and Mira-san were able to evade the magic unscathed.
But――.
“…Shirayukiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!”
Her figure had vanished without a trace, leaving only a trail of blood behind.